Confederations Cup Rewind

By now any fan of the US Men's National Team already knows that the boys followed up their miracle escape from the group stage by snapping Spain's record unbeaten streak and going up 2-0 on Brazil before coming back to earth. Rather then opine on how historic these results might be, I'd like to present some things we may have learned about this team.

It's a Whole Lot Easier to Play With 11 Men
Everyone's head exploded when the US got their lunch handed to them in the first two games. What folks seemed to overlook is that the US played 90 out of 180 minutes of those games a man down. You won't find many teams who will handle Brazil and Italy well 10 v 11.

Charlie Davies is Legit
When Davies left Boston College early and jumped straight to Hammarby in Sweden I thought it was a mistake. Many others that have opted to spurn MLS and go straight Europe have slunk back home after a year or two of riding the pine. Davies has bucked the trend, and has teams from larger leagues looking into acquiring him. If his goal versus Egypt and well worked counter with Donovan against Brazil are any indication, he may be the speed option the US has lacked up top for a while now.

Donovan is a Midfielder
This tournament may be the best performance Donovan has ever put in as a Nat. He was all over the field and stole the show. In the thick of the action, he's a warrior, but as a forward he seems to lose focus and drift out of the game. Hopefully this will keep Bob Bradley from deploying him up top any more.

The Pride of Bayport

Being a resident of the state of Wisconsin, I was wondering if the rise of Jay DeMerit was going to get any play during the Confederations Cup. It's not often that a player from hardcore football country, that didn't even get drafted by MLS ends up playing in a major international tournament.

As it turns out, the New York Times has taken notice. Technically DeMerit is from just outside Green Bay, but the article is still a fun read.

Of Confederations and Profanity

The start to the USA's Confederations Cup campaign inspired a torrent of vitriol among American supporters, as well as a fair amount of swearing, including -- the alleged drunken Facebook rants of former US player Eric Wynalda. (Wynalda claims his Facebook account was hacked.)

I enjoyed it when he announced games for ESPN. For all his faults, he would usually come through with at least one really incisive observation. My favorite comment from his rant? "Maybe if I make a comeback, Bob will let me limp around and take ten pens to pad my stats." Think Waldo might be bitter about Landon Donovan passing him on the all-time scorers list for the USA? Probably... but he's kind of right. When was the last time Lando scored a goal from open play?

Of course the team pulled off a miracle escape, beating Egypt 3-0 while Italy lost 3-0 to Brazil to move into the knockout stages of the tournament. This great escape led to the following quote from US midfielder Michael Bradley:

"All the [expletive] experts in America, everybody who thinks they know everything about soccer, they they can all look at that score tonight," said the coach's son, midfielder Michael Bradley said. "Let's see what they say now, all right? Nobody has any respect for what we do, for what goes on in the inside. Let them all talk now."

Point taken. Maybe that 3-0 loss to Brazil doesn't look so bad after all.